THE GREAT CROSSING OF MYANMAR-12D/11N

You will be able to discover Yangon and Mandalay, the cities with the miles pagodas, and you will discover the forgotten temples of Bagan, and bewitch by the area of the Inle lake.

SEA LEVEL

INLE : 885 M

Itinerary At a Glance

DAY

DEPART

VISIT

ARRIVE

RANK

DAY-00

FRANCE

BANGKOK

DAY-01

BANGKOK

YANGON

***

DAY-02

YANGON

SGN/AVA/AMA

MANDALAY

***

DAY-03

MANDALAY

MINGUN

MANDALAY

***

DAY-04

MANDALAY

MONYWA

***

DAY-05

MONYWA

PAKOKKU

BAGAN

***

DAY-06

BAGAN

BAGAN

***

DAY-07

BAGAN

POPA

BAGAN

***

DAY-08

BAGAN

HEHO/PDY

KALAW

***

DAY-09

KALAW

TGG/KKU

INLE

***

DAY-10

INLE

INDEIN

***

DAY-11

INLE

HEHO

YANGON

***

DAY-12

YANGON

BANGKOK

***

DAY 01

BANGKOK OR OTHER DESTINATION

YANGON

Welcomed by our guide and transfer to hotel and leisure. Green city marked out lakes with the carefully landscaped banks, Yangon dissimulates under its peaceful airs a vibrating animation. Visit Chaukhtetgyi pagoda and of its great Buddha laying whose colossal stature is fortunately softened by the good-naturalness of its expression! Lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, an extended visit to the Shwedagon pagoda, one of the world’s most spectacular religious monuments, will conclude the tour of this pictures garden city. The golden dome of the Shwedagon Pagoda rises 98 meters.

! Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 02

YANGON

MANDALAY- SAGAING- AVA-AMARAPURA-MANDALAY

Breakfast.
Transfer to Yangon airport for domestic flight to Mandalay.
Upon arrival, proceed to Sagaing, a retreat for Buddhist devotees, to enjoy a magnificent view over the surrounding area. Then stop with the Pagoda Soon UPonnya Shin to benefit from the panorama.
Lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, continue a visit to the former royal capital of Ava, reached by a short boat trip. Visits by horse-drawn carriage to the Nanmyint Watch Tower, the remains of the palace building nicknamed “leaning tower of Ava”, MahaAungmye beautiful monastery built of brick and stucco and Bagayar Monastery, famous for its impressive ornate woodcarvings and teak posts. Return to Mandalay. Departure for Amarapura and continue to the 200- years –old U Bein Bridge, built-in 1782 at the time of Amarapura was the royal capital, entirely constructed of teak wood.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 03

MANDALAY

MINGUN

MANDALAY

Breakfast at the hotel.
Weather permitting, visit the small market near the train station. The last train from the suburbs of Mandalay arrives around 10:30. You can enjoy the scenes of daily life with the vegetable merchants and locals who shop. It is a fascinating and accessible place. An excursion by boat on the Ayeyarwaddy River will take you to Mingun (45min approximately). Visit one of the world largest bells, weighing 90 tons MingunBell, Hsinbyume Paya and the unfinished MingunPaya, built as one of the largest Saudis by King Bodawpaya. Return by boat to Mandalay.

In the afternoon, visits with the Shwenandaw monastery (or Golden Palace monastery) a superb example of a traditional work, and KuthodawPagoda, the world’s largest book, consisting of 729 marble slabs engraved with Buddhist scriptures.

Lunch on the boat during the visit.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.

DAY 04

MANDALAY

MONYWA

After breakfast at hotel, drive to Monywa (3h approximately) by coach. Stop on route to visit the KaungMudaw Pagoda with its enormous formerly white dome (it becomes golden dome) and its some 800 stone pillars located at the base. Visit multicolored Thanboddhay temple, built from the dream designs of a noted monk. Lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, departure for the splendid temple-caves of Powintaung (1hr), a seldom-visited complex of cave temples and shrines (some dating back to the 15th century) that contain an abundance of Buddha images and some fine mural paintings. And then continue to discovery of the maze of temples Shwe BaTaung. Return to Monywa.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 05

MONYWA

PAKOKKU

BAGAN

Breakfast.
Drive to Pakkoku (3h approximately) by coach. Then cruise to Bagan (2h 30), the occasion to discover the life of the banks of the river with its market gardening’s and its traditional villages of another time.
Lunch is taken on the way. Arrival to Bagan at the beginning of afternoon.

Lunch is taken on the way.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 06

BAGAN

Breakfast.
Day devoted to discovering of Bagan "the mystic" extraordinary archaeological site which does not have anything to envy that of Angkor with its 3000 temples and pilot pink brick stupas of the apogee of the Buddhist architecture of Myanmar. Starting a sightseeing tour with a diverse selection of the most important pagodas and temples such as ShwezigonPagoda, built by King Anawrahta in the early 11th century, and discovered temples Shwegugyi, Gawdawpalin and coloured market located in Old Bagan.

We will meet the religious tradition of donating food and materials for the monks of the surrounding monasteries. Near the Law Ka Nanda pagoda, we will witness the great procession of monks coming out of the monastery to accept the offering of the local population. The locals meet together in a gesture of prayer to receive a blessing from the monks. You can join the local community to offer our material donations to the monks. Visit Ananda Temple, with its four substantial standing-Buddha images and numerous seated figures that arrange around the interior gallery and Gu Byauk Gyi Temple (under the protection of UNESCO), noted for its ancient mural paintings.
Observe a sunset in the vicinity of Bagan’s ancient monuments.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 07

BAGAN

MONT POPA

BAGAN

Breakfast at the hotel.
Continue the visit in Bagan with the discovery of the ruins of the Royal Palace; Tharaba's door, Tayok Pye Temple. Visit a lacquer craftsmen’s workshop in the nearby Myinkaba village(Note: The restaurant of the Mount Popa offers a magnificent view over the whole site Mount Popa and for clients who cannot climb on Mount Popa will allow them to enjoy the unique landscape from the terrace of the restaurant). Lunch takes at the Popa Mountain Resort Hotel. Then, a 45 km drive (1 ½ hour) will take you to MountPopa. An extinct volcano with spectacular views. Its shrine dedicated to animist spirits knows as "Nats", and you will have time to climb nearly 800 steps to the shrine at the top of the peak. Return to Bagan.

Lunch takes at the Popa Mountain Resort Hotel.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.

DAY 08

BAGAN

HEHO

PINDAYA-KALAW

Breakfast.
Transfer to Nyaung U airport for domestic flight to Heho.
Depart on the road (2h30 approximately) for Pindaya's caves, an impressively long way up into the hills and across the Shan Plateau, through fields of mountain rice.

Pindaya is especially famous for its natural caves in which ones were stored, with the passing of the centuries the donations of the pilgrims is more than 8000 statues of Buddha out of wood, alabaster, marble, cement. An occasion to discover the evolution that knew the representations of the Buddha through the time.

Lunch at a local restaurant. Visit magnificent Pindaya cave set in a limestone ridge overlooking a picturesque lake, where thousands of different types of Buddha images are a display in the various cave chambers. Continue to visit some local houses where families produce Shan paper and parasols.
Drive-by road to Kalaw.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 09

KALAW

TAUNGGYI-KAKKU-INLE LAKE

Breakfast at the hotel.
Drive to Bagan airport for domestic flight to Heho.
Departure by road for Taunggyi city. Capital of the Shan state, a former British hill station. Visit the local market, where minority people sell their products. Lunch at a local restaurant. Continue by road (1h 30) for Kakku. KakKu pagoda is very unusual and little-known about its origins. Dozens of small stupas surround the main pagoda in a huge circle. Stops in a way to visit some small villages Pao, a major ethnic group of the area. Drive-by road to Nyaung Shwe.

Departure by road (2h 30), for NyaungShwe, at the edge of the lake Inlé. Visit monastery out of wooden of Shwe Yan Pyay. Visit of NyaungShwe.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 10

INLE LAKE

INDEIN

Breakfast at the hotel.
The idyllic framework blotted around the mountains, and the Inle Lake is a punctuated blue oasis of villages on pile, temples and monasteries. You can discover the life of the lake: it's surprising floating vegetable gardens, fixed on the bottom of the lake by large piles of bamboo; its fishermen into, principal ethnic of the lake, which ancestral mode of fishing, with a bow net and while rowing with a leg, is unique in the world.
You can walk in the village and visit the old pagodas which built in the 12th century.

Inn Dein locates on the southwestern bank of Inle lake. Its village one can say that it is the most picturesque part of the Inle lake. The brook which leads to the lively village with various activities on its banks. In-Dein village is used as the main door to approach the western part of the lake and to discover the close villages situated on the hills.

After lunch, visit monastery NgaPhe, also called “monastery of the jumping cats” since its monks drew up cats to be jumped inside rings. This monastery out of wooden, built on pile, and contains an astonishing collection of statues of Buddha. Visit Pagoda PhaungDawOo, one of the most sacred shrines in Myanmar, dating back to the 18th century, and visits some of its many artisan factories of weaving of silk, cigars, etc.
Enjoy the canoe-kayak ride to admire the beautiful surrounding landscape surrounding Inle Lake and the culture of the local people of this region. This small boat trip will offer you a quieter sailing experience, rowed and guided by the ladies of the "Inthar" ethnic group.
Return to the dugout to the setting sunset.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner and overnight at hotel.

DAY 11

INLE LAKE

HEHO

YANGON

Breakfast at hotel.
Transfer by the road to Heho airport and fly back to Yangon.
Visit colonial quarter such as Maharbandula Garden, City Hall, High court,etc.
Lunch at the local restaurant. In the colonial district, discover the administrative buildings "The Secretariats" of the east wing and its interior courtyard of this colonial building.

You can dive back into the 1950s and its magnificent architectural treasure. Then walk through Chinatown home, along with colonial buildings are crumbling facades, an abundance of small shops, hawkers and street canteens. Visit the Bogyoke Market, market lacquer, precious stones, fabrics, etc. Free time for your last minute shopping.

Lunch at the local restaurant.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.

DAY 12

YANGON

BANGKOK OR OTHER DESTINATION

Breakfast.
Leisure time until the transfer to the airport.
Transfer to the international airport, take-off bound for Bangkok.